Charges Against Andrew McCormick

August, 16, 2012: The District Attorney’s Office will be re-filing felony charges against 56 year old Andrew McCormick. At today’s Preliminary Hearing Judge Karen Yvette Simmons dismissed Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse (oral sex with child under age 13), Sexual Assault (oral sex without consent of person) and Statutory Sexual Assault (oral sex with child under age 16 and defendant more than 4 years older) charges. She remanded the case for trial on the misdemeanor charges of Indecent Assault, Corrupting the Morals of a Minor, and Endangering the Welfare of a Child.

The adult victim testified today that when he was ten years old, McCormick straddled his chest and pressed his penis through the boy’s lips and up against his front teeth twice. McCormick was a priest at St. Cantius at the time. According to Pennsylvania law, Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse (IDSI) is defined as penetrating a child’s mouth with one’s penis however slightly. The victim’s testimony clearly established penetration of his mouth by pushing the penis past the boy’s lips and up against his front teeth – all parts of which are described under the law as “mouth.” The case law is clear that even if the defendant’s penis only made contact with the outside of the boy’s lips without going further, that would constitute IDSI. For instance, the Superior Court has ruled that the lip is considered part of the mouth and that a child kissing a man’s penis is IDSI.

The District Attorney’s Office will be filing an appeal to Motions court today. A Court of Common Pleas Judge sitting in Municipal court will review the notes of testimony from the preliminary hearing within the next thirty days and determine whether the charge of IDSI and related felony charges should have been properly held for court based on the victim’s clear testimony that the defendant’s penis went through his lips into his mouth. The Commonwealth is very confident that all the felony charges will be reinstated and McCormick will then be sent to trial in the Court of Common Pleas on all charges. ADA Jack O’Neill is specially assigned to this case.